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Arizona, USA: Tiny City of Bisbee Approves First Reading of Civil Unions Ordinance

Written by scott on March 21st, 2013

A small town in southeastern Arizona has given initial approval to a civil unions bill, The Los Angeles Times reports:

Tuesday evening, Bisbee City Council members voted to allow the next best thing to gay marriage. In a first reading of an ordinance, adding a chapter to its city charter, they cleared the way for civil unions. The vote by the seven-member council was unanimous, making it likely to pass on a final vote scheduled in two weeks. “I think it’s time,” Mayor Adriana Zavala Badal said of the proposal. “We’ve been working on this as a country for a long time.” The ordinance, which allows for a form of union regardless of the sexual orientation of the couple, would be effective only within Bisbee and affect certain benefits and policies within the city. Bisbee, situated along the U.S.-Mexico border, has about 5,600 residents.

Bisbee is a cute artist town about an hour southeast of Tucson, Arizona.